In line with the Government’s commitment of replacing grey hydrogen with green hydrogen, India is proposing to mandate the use of green hydrogen in fertilizer and refining.

• This proposal was put forward by Power Minister R K Singh while holding talks with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Mr John Kerry.
• He noted, India and US can work together in the fields of innovations for power and technology.
• According to the Minister, India has achieved a milestone of crossing 100 GW in Installed Solar and Wind Capacity. Total installed renewable capacity is 147 MW, by adding the Hydro capacity.

National Hydrogen Energy Mission was launched to enable cost competitive green hydrogen production. India will be also be conducting competitive bids for green hydrogen in three to four months in order to make road for viable usage of hydrogen as a fuel. India is also looking at bids for 4000 MW of electrolysers capacity.

Hydrogen is one among the abundant elements on earth that can be used as a cleaner alternative fuel option. Hydrogen is of following types:

1. Green Hydrogen: It is produced by electrolysis of water by using renewable energy like Solar, Wind. It has the potential to lower the carbon footprint.
2. Brown Hydrogen: It is produced by using coal where emissions are released in the air.
3. Grey Hydrogen: It is produced from natural gas where associated emissions are released in the air.
4. Blue Hydrogen: It is produced from natural gas and emissions are captured by using carbon capture and storage.

According to Moody’s Investors Service, second wave of Covid infections has increased the asset risks for Indian banks.

• According to it, second wave of coronavirus infections in India has exacerbated stress on individuals and small businesses. They were hit the hardest by the initial covid-19 outbreak.
• Thus, there are a number of factors to prevent sharp increases in problem loans. But banks have sufficient buffers to absorb anticipated loan losses.

Moody’s is the bond credit rating business of Moody’s Corporation. It represents traditional line of business and historical name of the company. The company provides international financial research on the bonds issued by commercial as well as government entities. Moody’s is among Big Three Credit Rating Agencies along with Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Group. It also finds place in the Fortune 500 list of 2021.

It ranks the creditworthiness of borrowers by using standardized ratings scale. This scale measures expected investor loss in case of default. In the rating system of the company securities are assigned a rating ranging from Aaa to C. Aaa is the highest quality while C the lowest.

Moody’s was founded in 1909 by John Moody in order to produce manuals of statistics for stocks and bonds & bond ratings. Company was identified as the Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) in 1975.

NRSRO is a credit rating agency, which is approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a bid to provide information that financial firms are required to rely on for certain regulatory purposes.According to Moody’s Investors Service, second wave of Covid infections has increased the asset risks for Indian banks.

On August 26, 2021 Government of Cuba announced to recognize and regulate cryptocurrencies for payment in the Island nation.

Highlights

• This decision was taken following the popularity of cryptocurrencies increased among a technologically savvy group in Cuba as it became harder to use dollars.
• As per officials, Central Bank will set rules for such currencies. It will also determine how to license the providers of related services in Cuba.
• Cryptocurrencies are used for long-distance transactions and are supposedly anonymous. Thus, they are often popular among people who are attempting to evade government regulations.

The Central American nation of El Salvador also recently announced to recognise the use of cryptocurrency Bitcoin because it is a way to encourage remittances from its citizens who are living abroad. El Salvador announced on June 9, 2021 to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. It became the first country worldwide to take this step.

Cryptocurrencies are binary data that are designed to work as a medium of exchange. In such exchange, individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger in the form of computerized database. A strong cryptography is used to store the database in order to secure transaction records, control the creation of additional coins as well as to verify transfer of coin ownership. It does not exist in physical form like a paper money and is not issued by any central authority. Cryptocurrency is minted or created prior by a single issuer. So, it is generally considered as centralized.

Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency, released in 2009.

Algeria has cut its diplomatic ties with Morocco due to hostile actions after months of resurgent tensions between both the countries.

• Both the countries have been accusing one another of supporting opposition movements as proxies.
• Algeria has been supporting separatists in the Western Sahara region. This is the main bone of contention for Morocco.

Rivalry between Algeria and Morocco took a new twist in 2020 when the former U.S. President, Donald Trump, recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the territory in return for Morocco normalising its ties with Israel.

It is the conflict between Polisario Front and Kingdom of Morocco. Polisario Front is the national liberation movement of Sahrawi tribe who seek to end the Moroccan presence in Western Sahara. Under the Madrid Accords of 1975 with Mauritania & Morocco, Spain left the region in 1976. Until its exit, Spanish Governor-General administer the territory, with the help of two Mauritanian and Moroccan Deputy Governors. But Polisario Front opposed these agreements. Thus, Mauritania and Morocco sent their troops to claim the Western Sahara region.

This region was a Spanish colony, sharing its border with Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania. The region is home to Sahrawi tribe.

The conflict continued for 4 years after 1976. Mauritania signed a peace treaty with Polisario in 1979 and withdrew its military forces from Western Sahara region. But Morocco advanced its troops and the war between Moroccan troops and Polisario Front continued till 1991. A ceasefire was agreed upon in 1991. Morocco was already having control over 80% of the territory.

Militaries of China, Mongolia, Thailand and Pakistan are set to take part in a multinational peacekeeping exercise called “Shared Destiny-2021”.

• It will be organised by the People’s Liberation Army at the combined-arms tactical training base in central Henan province of China from September 6 to 15, 2021.
• This is the first multinational peacekeeping live exercise, involving four nations.
• All the participating countries will dispatch about 1,000 troops to be the part of drills. 1000 troops will involve units of infantry, security, fast response, engineering, helicopter, transportation and medical service.
• Exercise will be held in close-to-real battlefield environment that will be set in accordance with international, professional and realistic combat standards.

In the peacekeeping exercise, battlefield environment will be created by conducting drills of battlefield reconnaissance, security guarding & patrol, protection of civilians, protection to armed escort, response to violent & terrorist attacks, construction of temporary operation base and battlefield first aid & pandemic control for responding to UN’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative.

Henan is a landlocked province of China and often referred as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou. Henan province is the birthplace of Chinese civilization, comprising of over 3,000 years of recorded history. It remained cultural, economic and political centre of China until approximately 1,000 years ago. City is home to several heritage sites which have been left behind such as ruins of Shang dynasty capital city Yin and Shaolin Temple. It is the 5th-largest provincial economy and largest inland province in China.

NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute (WRI) of India together launched the ‘Forum for Decarbonizing Transport’ in India on August 23, 2021.

Key points

• This forum was launched virtually as part of NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project.
• It aims to decrease the peak level of Greenhouse Gas emissions (transport sector) in Asia which is rising because of problems like air pollution and congestion.
• It was launched in line with below 2-degree pathway.

India comprises of a massive and diverse transport sector. It is is also the third most CO2 emitting sector. According to data of IEA 2020 and Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change 2018, within the transport sector, road transport contributes more than 90% of the total CO2 emissions.

Government of India is working for decarbonisation of road transport sector with the help of various policy and initiatives. Primary focus of the government is on adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in India. NITI Aayog has been promoting EVs and sustainable mobility with the help of National Mission on Transformative Mobility & Battery Storage.

In order to leverage and streamline EVs across India, there is a need is to create a favourable ecosystem for stakeholders including Central & state Governments, financial institutions, state-designated agencies, OEMs, businesses, research & technical institutes and private bodies. These stakeholders should coordinate with each other to enable investment, ensure fair adoption in industry and encourage adoption. Thus, this forum was launched for NITI aayog & WRI to work in close coordination with the stakeholders in order to formulate strategies and develop appropriate business models to boost electric mobility across India.

India's proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023 has been approved at the by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

• India is celebrating 2018 as the national year of millets.

• Millet is a collective term referring to a number of small-seeded annual grasses that are cultivated as grain crops, primarily on marginal lands in dry areas in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.
• Some of the common millets available in India are Ragi (Finger millet), Jowar (Sorghum), Sama (Little millet), Bajra (Pearl millet), and Variga (Proso millet).

• Millets are less expensive and nutritionally superior to wheat & rice owing to their high protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals like iron content.
• Millets are also rich in calcium and magnesium. For example, Ragi is known to have the highest calcium content among all the food grains.
• Millets can provide nutritional security and act as a shield against nutritional deficiency, especially among children and women. Its high iron content can fight high prevalence of anaemia in India women of reproductive age and infants.
• Millets are rich in antioxidants.
• Millets can help tackle lifestyle problems and health challenges such as obesity and diabetes as they are gluten-free and have a low glycemic index (a relative ranking of carbohydrate in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels).

• Millets are Photo-insensitive (do not require a specific photoperiod for flowering) & resilient to climate change.
• Millets can grow on poor soils with little or no external inputs.
• Millets are less water consuming and are capable of growing under drought conditions, under non-irrigated conditions even in very low rainfall regimes
• Millets have low carbon and water footprint (rice plant needs at least 3 times more water to grow in comparison to millets).
• Millets can withstand high temperature. In times of climate change Millets are often the last crop standing and, thus, are a good risk management strategy for resource-poor marginal farmers.

• Since India, which supports more than 15% of the world’s population, but only has 4% of its water resources, promotion of millets could be helpful.
• To efficiently feed the growing population, increase in the production of and demand for millets is need of the hour.
• Policy changes need to address infrastructure development in regions growing millets.
• Cultivation of several varieties of millets should be encouraged and practised.
• The government should include millets in Public Distribution System (PDS) and nutrition programmes.
  • For example, Odisha has planned to introduce millets in PDS, mid-day meal scheme (MDM) and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
• The government should incentivise farmers growing millets and practising mixed cropping, besides providing financial support for their processing, storage and marketing.
• Specific value addition practices, like grading, sorting, cleaning, processing and packaging should also be supported.

Ministry of Textile and National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) launched an India size survey, in order to do away with the confusion of size.  It has been titled as INDIAsize. The survey was officially launched on August 26, 2021.

Key Points

• This initiative was launched with the aim of introducing a new standardised size chart in ready-to-wear clothing sector in India.
• This project was announced in February 2019. However, it got delayed because of covid-19 pandemic.
• New sizing chart will comprise of a size identification number. It will be created by mapping, categorising and defining the body size and type.
• At present, only 18 countries have their own sizing charts.

The textile sector in India is the second largest employer. It generates about Rs 140 billion, out of which Rs 100 billion is from Indian consumers alone while Rs 40 billion is from export.

With INDIAsize, surveys are being conducted across six states namely Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Shillong and Kolkata. Survey in Delhi is currently underway with the aim of reaching to about 5,700 participants. In the survey, 100 anthropometric data points are being used from each of the participants. Participants have been selected from different age groups, income brackets and varied ethnicities.

Team is using a 3D whole body scanner technology to gather anthropometric data from participants. All the international protocols of national sizing survey are being used.

INDIAsize survey is part of “fibre-to-fashion” initiative by the Ministry of Textiles.

The NITI Aayog and a US-based tech giant, Cisco launched the next phase of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) on August 26, 2021.

Highlights

• This phase of the WEP has been titled as ‘WEPNxt’.
• It will leverage technology from Cisco and experience working with India’s start-up ecosystem in order to enable more women-owned businesses in India.
• Cisco, in collaboration with Sattva Consulting, Nasscom Foundation, and DeAsra Foundation, will enable technology-led experiences and engagements in a bid to address the challenges that women entrepreneurs face at individual as well as enterprise levels.

According to the Sixth Economic Census, women only comprise of 13.76 per cent of the total entrepreneurs, amounting to 8.05 million out of total 58.5 million entrepreneurs in India.

WEP Nxt will catalyse women entrepreneur movement. This technology platform will soon become a personalised guide for every woman entrepreneur in India and help them to realise her dreams. It is a significant step to augment these efforts. It will be driven by evidence-based decision making on the basis of focused study of Indian women entrepreneurs and their urgent needs across following factors:

1. Community and networking,
2. Skilling and mentorship,
3. Incubation and acceleration programs,
4. Financial, compliance, and marketing assistance.

WEP is a first of its kind unified access portal. It brings women from different parts of India together and help them to realise their entrepreneurial aspirations. Platform was launched by the NITI Aayog in 2017. It brings together women from diverse backgrounds and provides them access to multiple resources, support, and learning.

Stockholm World Water Week (SWWW) was held online from August 23 to 27, 2021 by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

Key Points

• Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) was the only civic body from India that was invited at the panel discussion on the topic “Zero Liquid Discharge Cities”.
• According to City municipal commissioner, Banchhanidhi Pani, by 2030 city would be able to reusing 100% of sewage water after treatment.

The Stockholm World Water Week was held under the theme: ‘Building Resilience Faster’.

Only SMC was invited to discuss at SWWW because, Surat’s achievement in treating sewage water and reusing it has been recognized by world’s top institute in water governance. Surat treats about 1,400 MLD sewage water out of which 320 MLD (33%) is reused.

WWW is a leading annual event that is organised to held discussions on global water issues. It is organized by SIWI since 1991. The weeklong event is attended by some 4,000 participants from 135 countries.

• Under the WWW, many sessions are convened by leading international organizations on different topics related to water, ranging from food security & health to energy, agriculture, biodiversity, and climate crisis.
• It also includes prestigious international competition called ‘Stockholm Junior Water Prize’ and award ceremony for Stockholm Water Prize.

Surat city was recently awarded a ‘Water+ certification’ under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). It was the first city from Gujarat to get recognition. It was awarded by the ministry of housing and urban Affairs (MoHUA) in the field of adopting best practices in waste water management.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, took charge as the Chairperson of Stop TB Partnership Board on August 26, 2021.

• He will hold the responsibility with immediate effect and hold the position until 2024.
• He will now lead the efforts of Stop TB Partnership Secretariat, partners, and TB community in order to reach towards reaching United Nations TB targets by 2022. Thus, it is a milestone moment in the effort of ending TB by 2030.

This partnership was established in the year 2000 in a bid to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem. It comprises of 1500 partner organizations including international organizations, nongovernmental & governmental organizations as well as patient groups. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland. It is administered by UNOPS since 2015. Earlier, it was hosted by the World Health Organization.

Stop TB Initiative was established after the meeting of the First Session of Ad Hoc Committee on Tuberculosis Epidemic. It was held in London in March 1998.

Stop TB Partnership came up with the Amsterdam Declaration in March 2000 in order to Stop TB. The declaration called for action from ministerial delegations of 20 countries, having the highest burden of TB. In 2000 itself, World Health Assembly endorsed for the establishment of a Global Partnership to Stop TB.

It is a 5-year investment plan, representing the roadmap of accelerating impact on TB epidemic in order to meet the targets of WHO End TB Strategy. It is the 4th Global Plan since the establishment of Stop TB Partnership in 2000. This plan aims to end TB and do away the limited approach which only aims to control the diseases.

SHANGHAI, Aug 27 -  China will urge countries to recognise the importance of biodiversity in human health and endorse key Chinese Communist Party slogans about protecting natural ecosystems, according to a draft declaration submitted to the United Nations this week.

Key Points

• China wants the "Kunming Declaration" to be agreed by all parties ahead of delayed "COP 15" biodiversity talks due to take place in October in the southwestern city of Kunming, with the aim of sealing a new global treaty.
• The "zero draft" of the declaration, published on the official website of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity on Thursday, includes the key Chinese Communist Party concept of "ecological civilisation".
• It also includes the formulation of "lucid water and lush mountains", first used in a 2005 speech by President Xi Jinping and included in dozens of Chinese policy documents and propaganda campaigns since he became leader in 2012.

The Supreme people's court and human resources and social security published a lengthy essay on Friday about Labor violations and unreasonalble overtime, labeled '996' because of common practice of working 9 AM to 6PM, six days a week.

• China has issued its most detailed warning yet against the excessive-work culture that pervades the country's largest corporations, using real and richly detailed court disputes to address a growing backlash against the punishing demands of the private sector. 
• The Supreme People's Court and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security published a lengthy essay on Friday (Aug 27) about labour violations and unreasonable overtime, labelled "996" because of the common practice of working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week.
• It outlined 10 court cases - including but not limited to the tech industry - in which employees were forced to work extra hours, or put in harm's way.
• China’s human resources ministry and the courts now aim to develop guidelines to resolve future labor disputes, according to Friday’s notice.
• "The overtime issues at some industries and companies have come to the public's attention," the court said in its notice.
• "Legally, workers have the right to corresponding compensation and rest times or holidays. Obeying the national regime for working hours is the obligation of employers. Overtime can easily lead to labour disputes, impact the worker-employer relationship and social stability."